KILLYBEGS, Ireland: Daragh McGuinness wanted to join the fishing crew after finishing school, but now, at 23, he worries that climate change may destroy this industry that has supported his family for many generations.
“It’s a massive problem, and it might put an end to fishing, at least in Ireland,” he told AFP while sitting in the pilothouse of the Atlantic Challenge trawler, which is now docked at the northwest Irish town of Killybegs.
The already suffering business is under pressure due to concerns that fish could be forced towards calmer waters as the North Atlantic Ocean‘s summertime temperature increases.
The average surface temperature in the North Atlantic broke a previous record of 24.9 degrees Celsius (76.8 degrees Fahrenheit) at the end of July, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The Atlantic Challenge, like many other boats leaving from Killybegs, captures blue whiting and mackerel, two fish that are highly valued on international markets, and it returns to port one or two days following a catch so that the produce is still fresh.
McGuinness said, “It would only worry you that you would be pushed further, too far north, and then it wouldn’t be feasible to return to Killybegs. According to Sean O’Donoghue, chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation, climate change has a “dramatic effect” on white fish supplies like cod, which prefer cooler waters.
